What car radios work well with WP8

So I'm frustrated enough with my car radio not working with WP8, that one of the two has to go. I was an early adopter of WP7, so I'm not yet ready to ditch the OS - besides overall, I've really liked it.

So I ask the question to the collective forum - what after market car radios work for your WP8 devices? I would like to find a double DIN device that will work with the Lumia 920 - and I'm irritated with Pioneer enough with their lack of communication and their slowness to address the problem that I'm inclined to avoid using them again. Why reward bad behavior? I leave this question rather broad, I'm open to considering both audio and audio/video classes.

A2DP and AVRCP 1.4 support. I'm having a hard time finding receivers that support the updated 1.4 version. I currently have the Pioneer AVH-3400BH DVD receiver, but I'm tired of waiting for Pioneer's vaporware/firmware.

I don't know about double din but I just installed a JVC KD-X50BT receiver(Christmas gift, just what I wanted!!!) and it works flawlessly with my nl 920. It auto connects and even displays the title of the playing song, including songs from Pandora(metro radio) or streaming players. I think its AVRCP 1.3 but I'm not sure what is included in 1.4. For my needs it works perfectly. My gf's AVIC-X930BT works just fine with her nl 920, just a little slow to connect.

It doesn't have to be 1.3, all I really care about is that the remote control capabilities work, and that I can see artist/track info while streaming music. My understanding is that 1.4 was not backwards compatible, but it sounds like it is partially, since ggonzalez777 has a 1.3 deck working with the 920.

I would recommend this receiver, if you don't care about cd playback or DVD. But it seems that what you had previously. I would think later model DVD receiver from JVC would work fine. What was your original issue with the pioneer?

Let me rephrase my question instead - ignoring any type of specs on the radio or bluetooth stack. What car radios have you got to work successfully with your Lumia 920s? Since I would be looking to put one in my car, I'm really interested in after market ones.

Let me rephrase my question instead - ignoring any type of specs on the radio or bluetooth stack. What car radios have you got to work successfully with your Lumia 920s? Since I would be looking to put one in my car, I'm really interested in after market ones.

I have the Alpine CDE-133BT. It works perfectly with my Lumia 920. All my streaming apps work well (including displaying songs and controlling play/stop/etc. from the stereo). Also, making phone calls through the stereo work very well. Sound quality is great. It allows you to make calls through voice, recent calls and phone book (all of this without touching your phone). It automatically connects to your phone when you turn your car on.

With the Alpine, are you able to access the native WP voice recognition (i.e. long press start) by simply tapping a button on the head unit? I'm looking for a stereo that doesn't do any phone book downloading, voice recognition etc. I just want a simple Bluetooth w/ A2DP stereo that gets out of the way and let's WP control everything instead of trying to be too smart.

With the Alpine, are you able to access the native WP voice recognition (i.e. long press start) by simply tapping a button on the head unit? I'm looking for a stereo that doesn't do any phone book downloading, voice recognition etc. I just want a simple Bluetooth w/ A2DP stereo that gets out of the way and let's WP control everything instead of trying to be too smart.

With the JVC model I mentioned, you hold the phone button for a second and it actives the voice control. I use it all the time with the "hey DJ" app and it works flawlessly. The unit comes with a mic you can place anywhere.

Does that JVC unit (giggity) have the BT receiver built-in or is it a USB dongle? I ask because I bought a JVC head unit a couple of years ago (using an iPhone in those days) and the BT quality was terrible with the included dongle.

I'm sales mngr stereo shop Sony 601bt works near perfect no album art but controls work Bluetooth is awesome it reads my text messages and I can reply thru Bluetooth no Pandora still waiting on that but only no album art for now Lumia 920 most pioneers are only iPhone ready not smartphone ready!!

With the Alpine, are you able to access the native WP voice recognition (i.e. long press start) by simply tapping a button on the head unit? I'm looking for a stereo that doesn't do any phone book downloading, voice recognition etc. I just want a simple Bluetooth w/ A2DP stereo that gets out of the way and let's WP control everything instead of trying to be too smart.

honestly I don't know. I will try and check that out tom. and let you know.

Does that JVC unit (giggity) have the BT receiver built-in or is it a USB dongle? I ask because I bought a JVC head unit a couple of years ago (using an iPhone in those days) and the BT quality was terrible with the included dongle.

There's a USB dongle that can connected to a USB cable from the rear, or you can connect it to the front USB slit. I don't know why but the USB doesn't charge the phone or read the music. But Bluetooth us all I wanted anyway.

And the quality of the music via the Bluetooth dongle is pretty good? And the LCD screen displays the song info from the phone via Bluetooth?
Have you tried the remote control; can you fast-forward/rewind/pause the phone's music via the remote?

And the quality of the music via the Bluetooth dongle is pretty good? And the LCD screen displays the song info from the phone via Bluetooth?
Have you tried the remote control; can you fast-forward/rewind/pause the phone's music via the remote?

I can't personally tell the difference from when I play the music through Bluetooth than when I play it through the auxiliary in. I believe the new wp8 phones support higher bit rates thus increasing the quality of the music. The LCD displays the tile of the song or the artist. That's only downside I see with my stereo. I doesn't display both, but there's a button to cycle through the info. Fast forward and rewind work but I can't seem to pause it. I have to read the manual to see what button pauses the music. I'm speaking about both the head unit and the remote.

I have a Pioneet P930BT in my one car...its never been great with any phone.

In my daily driver, I have the stock radio, with a Parrot Mki9100. Let me tell you...that thing is AWESOME! I have a jetta, so it was 100% plug and play. Most other cars will need an adapter harness I believe. But my WP works fantastic with it. I actually tested the Galaxy with my Parrot and it was unsatisfactory, and was probably one of the major pushes I needed to buy the 920.

In the Parrot settings, the key is to change the voice controls to "use the phones voice commands" vs. the built in ones from Parrot. Now with a click of the talk button, I get my phones voice control system. Send texts, have texts read, open apps, search, accept/reject calls, etc. It just works very well in my experience. Plus the Parrot kit is just a great unit. USB, AUX in, iPod connector, neat little display. I run a USB stick filled with my music.

I know this veers from your question OP...just wanted to toss it out there as a good aftermarket solution. Even if I bought a head unit with BT for my Jetta, I would still use the Parrot. In my experience a head unit that has BT capabilities will never be as good as a dedicated BT system.

Just to add one more point...the best car Ive used with factory BT was a Ford Focus with SYNC. That worked quite well for me.

I recently had an issue with WP8 Bluetooth compatibility and my Pioneer AVH-P3400BH DVD receiver in my car. Apparently this problem also affected iOS phones as well. So Pioneer released a FW update last week 1/29/2013 that resolved the issue and it fixed my WP8 (Nokia 822) issue. The problem I had was with the music streaming A2DP/AVRCP control and meta data from working with my WP8 phone. It did not have any issues with my older WP7 phone however.

I would recommend this receiver, if you don't care about cd playback or DVD. But it seems that what you had previously. I would think later model DVD receiver from JVC would work fine. What was your original issue with the pioneer?

Hi, just want to ask you maybe a stupid question. Can i skip to the next song on my Lumia 920 with the buttons of the stereo or the remote?. Thank you

I'll just add to this thread saying I recently purchased this Kenwood model for my car:Kenwood - KDC-BT955HD

It works excellently with my Lumia 920. I stream music from Xbox Music, and use the mic that came with the stereo for hands-free use. Works great with all. The stereo has some other great features, but suffice to say that it works as expected with the Lumia 920.

I own a Lumia 822 and have been using it with a Pioneer DEH X6500BT. Works great to stream Bluetooth audio and make/receive calls. I know you said you were fed up with Pioneer but this one does what I want. The display can be a little bright at night though.